Three girls in Afghanistan were poisoned last week as a punishment for attending school. According to Agence France Presse, the three schoolgirls were poisoned by Taliban militia after eating biscuits given to them by a man in the southeastern town of Khost.

The provincial military commander in Khost, Khialbaz Khan, asserted that “the Taliban is seeking to deter girls from going to school,” reports Agence France Presse. The girls, aged 10 to 15, are in critical condition.

There have been a series of attacks on girl’s schools in recent months, including a school in Kandahar that was recently burned to the ground. The Feminist Majority Foundation has reported over 30 attacks on girl’s schools since the fall of the Taliban.